Hell Hath No Fury
by HellzCrusader
Summary: They say revenge is a dish best served cold. Brothers separated by a lie, a lover struggles for her man's freedom and two soldiers search for answers before it's too late. SE/S, Baroness/Destro and maybe more if I feel like it.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:_ I do not own GI JOE, if I did Ripcord would have never been kissed by Scarlett and Baroness wouldn't have played Hard-To-Get with Destro. Also, Storm Shadow wouldn't have been dumped in the ocean. No money is being made from this so don't bother suing me, you won't get anything. I own nothing except the plot of this story and the word processor it was typed on._**

**SUMMERY: They say revenge is a dish best served cold. Brothers separated by a lie, a lover struggles for her man's freedom and two soldiers search for answers before it's too late. **

Scarlett winced with sympathy and held the hand of her boyfriend of five years tightly while Doc carefully stitched the long gash across his back. She glanced up at Snake's face and could tell that he was clenching his teeth against the discomfort. The only real thing that being a mute did for him, was that he couldn't verbally express the pain he may have been in. Doc clicked his tongue thoughtfully as he tied off the long row of stitches. "Alright, you can sit up now Snake." The GI JOE medical officer carefully bandaged the stitches, and peeled off his gloves dropping them onto the silver instrument tray. "Storm Shadow sliced you up good this time, I had to put almost four dozen stitches in your back, and another sixteen across your abdomen wound. You need to be more careful man, either that, or start wearing actual body armor."

_"And lose all my maneuverability? No thanks Doc, I'll just work on getting faster."_ Snake Eyes signed back. He hissed slightly as he sat up and pulled a soft long sleeved ARMY t-shirt over his head. Gloves and a soft black mask followed, completely hiding the injuries.

"Well either way, I'm putting you on medical leave for the next week or so. After that I _might_ consider clearing you for light duty." Doc turned his attention to Scarlett and handed her a stack of dressing kits. "He'll need help with the injury on his back, so make sure it redressed-"

"Twice a day and kept dry. The pool is off-limits until they've been removed." Shana smiled at the large man, "Gotcha Doc, we know the drill." The red haired JOE tucked the kits under one arm, and wrapped the other carefully around her partner's back to help him out of the infirmary. She felt Snake's slight limp as they made their way down the empty hall, and was silently grateful that Rip had seen fit to drag Duke out to get wasted after the North Pole mission. The last thing she wanted was to have the two newbies hovering and getting in the way. They meant well, but she and Snake liked their privacy.

She pressed her hand to the biometric lock on the door to their 'shared' quarters, (It had been intended to be her quarters alone, but over the last two years or so Snake's things had started to sort of migrate into the space.) and helped him into the dark room, to sit carefully on the low couch. "You want to try and get some sleep? Doc gave you some Zolpidem to help you sleep if you'd like. A few painkillers too."

Snake hesitated, torn between not wanting to leave himself fuzzy and vulnerable, and just wanting to be able to rest painlessly, even if only for a little while. Finally he held out one hand and nodded at her. Shana smiled and handed him two small pills which he dry swallowed and lain down on his side, taking care not to jar his stitches too badly. Scarlett tucked a pillow underneath his head and removed his mask and boots leaving him in his shirt and black sweatpants. Setting both items neatly off to one side she said softly, "I'm gonna go grab some water from the canteen alright?" Her boyfriend nodded, eyes slipping shut.

The woman smiled and ran a gentle hand though his short blond hair. "I'll be right back." Snake nodded slowly as the sleeping meds started to pull him under. She closed the door softly behind her and sighed, the whole trip back to base Snake had been upset about something. She wasn't entirely sure what but had a somewhat sinking feeling that it had something to do with Storm Shadow. She pulled her hair up into a snug ponytail and sighed. Well, whatever was bothering him, Snake would at some point tell her what it was, he wasn't all the good at keeping things from her, never had been. Of course, that went both ways. All he to do was giver that _look, _the one that said '_I know you need to talk, so talk.' _ it drove her nuts when he did that.

Down in the large cafeteria area, Shana pulled two large bottles of water out of one of the glass fronted refrigerators and hesitated before adding a large box of Ritz© crackers to the pile in her arms. Hopefully he wouldn't be sick when he woke up, but if he was, crackers would always help. She turned and nearly crashed headlong into Wallace "Ripcord" Weems, one of the newest GI JOE recruits. One who she'd _thought _was spending a night in Cairo with Duke drinking themselves into a stupor.

"Hey Scarlett," Rip said with a wide grin, "How ya doing?" The hopeful expression on his face gave the Intel Officer a sinking feeling that he might have been looking for a follow up to the kiss she'd given him on the last mission.

"Hi Ripcord." Shana replied with a barely audible sigh. "I was just getting a few things to bring back to my quarters." she looked him dead in the face, "_Snake Eyes _isn't feeling well." She hoped that her careful enunciation of her partner's name would give the Army man the hint without making her come straight out and say it.

"Oh yea? How is the ninja master? I heard he got sliced and diced pretty good back at McCullen's base." Rip suddenly reminded her of all the boys at her high school who used to hang all over her, after putting several of them in the hospital that thankfully stopped. As she stared at the tall pilot, she inwardly groaned as she realized that a few broken bones wasn't going to stop him.

"Listen Ripcord," Shana began, "It's late, and I really want to just go back to my quarters. The last mission really wiped me out you know?"

"Yea I get it. Here I'll walk you back there if you don't mind." He fell in step and Shana sighed, there would be no getting rid of him now. _Oh well, I'm not going to worry about damaging his sensibilities. If he wants to follow me it's his own business. _

Shana entertained herself with images of Rip's reaction when he realized that Snake was asleep on her couch all the way back down three levels of the Pit right up until she pressed her hand to the lock to open the door. That was when she suddenly realized that her partner would probably kill Rip while in his drugged fog. Too late, the door slid open and the pair of dim lights over the door flicked on automatically, bathing the first six feet or so of the space in dim light. Just enough to reveal that Snake Eyes wasn't having an easy night of it.

The couch was empty, but the sounds of dry heaves coming from the bathroom told her that Snake was awake, and probably not happy about it. Shana dumped her armful of water and crackers onto the low table covered with her textbooks before heading to the bathroom. "Rip just, stay here." she said waving a hand at the living area of the quarters before disappearing into the bathroom.

She knelt down next to her partner and rubbed his back gently being mindful of the stitches and frowned at how hot he felt. He hadn't been running a fever when they left the infirmary. "Snake you ok? The meds doing this?"

The ninja shrugged and rested his head against the side of the toilet tiredly. "Think you can get back to the couch?" Shana asked, "Or do you want to just go to bed?" He shrugged again and she sighed, with a small grin. "Bed it is then, you are one stubborn man do you know that?" He grinned shakily back at her, and she slipped a hand under his arm to lift him up. The walk from the bathroom to the bed was a short one and though Scarlett prided herself on her physical fitness, at the moment her partner was pretty much a hundred and sixty-five pounds of dead weight.

Rip was at Snake's other side in an instant and carefully tugged most of the other man's weight off of her shoulders. Shana smiled gratefully at the other JOE and quickly turned down the sheets so Snake could lie down comfortably. "Thanks Rip," Shana said as soon as her boyfriend had fallen asleep again, the Doc knew his stuff because Shana had never seen a couple of little pills wipe Snake out so fast _twice_ in a row.

"Yea, just hope the Zen master won't tear me a new one over this." Rip chuckled, running a hand over his shaved hair.

Shana grinned, "Well you might be surprised. Snake's is a nice guy once you get to know him, he just lets everyone else do the talking instead." She walked Rip to the door and wished him a good night before turning back to her unconscious partner. Pulling a pair of soft short-shorts out of her dresser and an oversized short sleeved shirt with loud red hiragana scrawled across it, _I LOVE KYOTO _with tiny stenciled hearts. It was a gag t-shirt that he'd picked up overseas and she had happily commandeered it for her own use as a nightshirt.

A large book on astro-physics open on her lap, Shana propped herself up against the headboard, one arm playing idly with Snake's hair, the other turning the pages in her book. The slim booklight clipped to the cover the only source of illumination as she would continue to keep watch over her sleeping partner, until Cover Girl would proceed to bang on the door at 0700hrs, left arm in a sling and a bright smile on her bruised face.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:_ I do not own GI JOE, if I did Ripcord would have never been kissed by Scarlett and Baroness wouldn't have played Hard-To-Get with Destro. Also, Storm Shadow wouldn't have been dumped in the ocean. No money is being made from this so don't bother suing me, you won't get anything. I own nothing except the plot of this story and the word processor it was typed on._**

**SUMMERY: They say revenge is a dish best served cold. Brothers separated by a lie, a lover struggles for her man's freedom and two soldiers search for answers before it's too late. **

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Cold. Deep burning cold that tore through muscle and bone, leaving a man helpless while in its grasp. Arashikage Tomio fought hard against his wounds and the arctic water trying to pull him under. Finally his head broke the surface and his stiff fingers grabbed uselessly at the smooth metal of an emergency ladder. He nearly lost his grip when something grabbed him by the arm and hoisted him easily out of the water. He dangled helplessly several inches off the floor while an mechanical voice said, _"Identification. Please state your name clearly." _Storm Shadow groaned at the idiocy of Destro's robotic assistants. _"Unable to verify. Prepare for retinal scan." _The bright green light that scanned across his eyes burned almost as much as the water had, _"Confirmed, Storm Shadow status severe hypothermia. Requires medical attention immediately." _The machine hoisted him up into it's arms and moved swiftly down the still burning hallway while the automated emergency systems sealed off the flooded corridors and worked to extinguish the flames.

The ninja groaned again as the android set him down on the operating table in the Doctor's lab. _"Beginning emergency med program EH-6279." _A needle jabbed into his arm and Storm Shadow felt the sedative begin to work almost instantly. The potent formula dragging his consciousness away faster than the arctic waters and sever injuries had managed.

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Baroness Anastasia DeCobray sat cross legged on the narrow cot in her high security prison cell, neatly braiding and unbraiding her long black hair. She hadn't slept in three days, carefully memorizing the guard rotation and the route from her cell, to the cells the JOEs were holding James and her brother in, and from there to the nearest exit. A morning escape would be their best chance, right before they moved the new shift in. It would be roughly a five minute window, provided that the entire affair went smoothly. Which she had found in her vast experience with these matters, never actually worked out. But thankfully, Ana wasn't counting on the JOEs to ensure her escape. She had quite a clever little con-artist on the payroll.

It had been almost two week since her arrest and the 'revelation' of Rex's nanite implants. Revelation bah, she'd _asked _ him to do it. Her brother had avoided her request for a while, but Ana was tired. Tired of the memories of Conrad leaving her without a word, tired of hiding from the government that Rex was alive, tired of playing the grieving sister every _fucking minute of every fucking day. _She was tired of being so fucking _weak._ Those nanites had made her faster, stronger _better_ than she could have ever dreamed of, even with her martial arts skill. The fact that they also removed those pesky memories, replacing them with set of false ones she herself had carefully penned out. Ana Lewis had been a pathetic, spineless weakling, sniveling after her precious boyfriend who dumped her. But Anastasia DeCobray, the _Baroness_ was powerful, strong a confident woman who had the money and influence to be able to take over the world.

God help the poor sap who got in her way.

The Cobra Queen clicked her tongue against her teeth as she watched the shift change. Hopefully that brainless idiot Zarana would remember to do as she was told and not screw up all of her carefully laid plans. She glanced up at the clock, 1400hrs exactly, when the guard fidgeted slightly, waiting for his relief to show up. It did roughly a minute later in the form of a rather attractive blond soldier, her hair slightly mussed and she panted slightly as though out of breath.

"Sorry I'm late sir." The soldier said, snapping smartly to attention. "Got lost on the way down."

"That's alright Private." The older soldier said, donning his hat and moving away from his post across from Anastasia's cell. "Mrs. DeCobray doesn't cause any trouble, so just stand here and don't talk to her."

"Aye aye sir." The private saluted sharply and took her place across from the Baroness' cell. Once the door at the end of the hall slammed shut, the blond soldier rolled her eyes and set her AK-47 against the wall so she could stretch properly. "Damn someone should get that guy to loosen up a bit huh?" She yawned, rotating her shoulder joints carefully.

"You'd be hard pressed little girl, the good sergeant happens to be gay." Baroness replied coolly, examining her neatly manicured nails. "But something tells me that you would try anyway."

"Maybe, maybe not." The woman slumped against the wall and scuffed her booted foot against the floor. "Damn it this is not what they said I'd be doing when I signed up at the recruitment office."

Anastasia stood and walked over to the special square of perfectly smooth steel which had bee welded to the bars of her cell to serve as a mirror. Apparently marrying the Baron had merited her a few comforts even while in prison. It took a little bit of maneuvering, but she managed to grasped the folded slip of paper between her bare toes and walk back to the cot, and sit with her legs tucked under herself in one graceful movement without the camera picking up on it.

She smiled inwardly, _Well Duke, it looks like that dumb trick you taught me is going to help me get the hell out of here. _She pulled the thin strip of metal out of the folded paper and palmed it carefully, and twisted the slip of paper which had the access codes to James and her brother's cells typed onto it, into her long hair, taking special care not to rip it. Slight of hand was simple for someone with the amount of dexterity and skill with concealing small weapons as she did.

"You know what sweetheart," Anastasia said to the other soldier, "I'm obviously not going anywhere. How about you go ahead and find the Sergeant of yours? See if I'm wrong about him."

The soldier tapped a gloved finger against her chin thoughtfully. "Yea what the hell. I've been trying to get my sorry ass fired anyway." She picked up her rifle and set it against her shoulder and set off down the hall whistling happily to herself. "I bet he's about five minutes ahead of me so I should catch up with him pretty quick."

Baroness glanced back up at the clock. 1408Hr, two more minutes until the security systems completely shut down on this cell block for five minutes. The automated door locks and gun turrets would remain off line for another five minutes after that so she had a total of ten minutes to get six levels down, open two high security cells each with a sixteen digit numeric password, then back up nine levels, through four airtight sealed doors and then, the Sahara desert. Where hopefully, the Dreadnoks were waiting with their air lift out of this god forsaken hell hole.

Thirty seconds and counting.

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Specialist Courtney "Cover Girl" Kreiger balanced a cardboard tray holding steaming cups from the canteen between her injured arm and her chest and a paper bag held tightly between her teeth so she could ring the door buzzer to her friend's quarters. "C'mon girlf'end open th' door a'eady!" When the door opened, the tank jockey glared at Shana who had burst out laughing at her friend's appearance. Dropping the bag into her hand, Courtney huffed, "Well, see if I ever show up with breakfast and coffee's for _you _ever again Scarlett." She waved the bag at her fellow JOE, "Their prolly cold because it took you so long to answer the damn door."

Scarlett took the proffered bag and peeked inside, "Oh Girl you are a saint. Did you raid a bakery or something?"

"Nah," Cover Girl replied, pushing past Scarlett and setting the tray of cups on the coffee table. "Roadblock decided that he was gonna use up all the milk and eggs before they went bad. The break in last week trashed a few of the power supplies so the refrigerators aren't running as cold as the should. I'm not gonna complain though, the man bakes a mean muffin." She handed Shana one of the paper cups as the red haired woman came to sit down next to her. "Here you go fresh hazelnut coffee with 'real' cream and plenty of sugar."

"Mmm." Shana's eyes closed in bliss as she sipped the hot drink. "Roadblock is pulling out all the stops isn't he?"

"Hey, you all came back from the North Pole mission, more or less in one piece and the Secret Service released Ripcord with only one phone call, which _never_ happens." Cover Girl too a sip of her own coffee. "Plus, it looks like once the French government will lift the ban on your team from being allowed within their national borders, well once things cool down a bit." She fished a corn muffin out of the bag and offered it to Shana. "Muffin?"

Shana laughed and reached out a hand to accept the offered pastry when the klaxxon alarm suddenly blared through through the speakers, quickly followed by Breaker yelling, _**"Prisoner escape from sub-level nine, high security cells, all available JOEs to stations!"**_

"Damn it not again." Cover Girl groaned. Scarlett was on her feet and pulling on a pair of jeans and boots before her injured friend had managed to get unsteadily to her feet. Cover Girl tossed the red head her crossbow and a box of bolts just as Scarlett tucked the bottom of her over sized shirt into her pants. "You be careful Shana, What do you think LJ'll do if she's the only girl still on the duty roster next week?"

"You too." Scarlett nodded at the other once before hesitating, her hand still on the door. "Courtney, keep an eye on him for me would you?"

"Sure thing girl, now go kick bad guy ass and make us wounded folk's proud." Cover Girl told the red head with a wide smile. "I'll keep you're boyfriend in bed even if I have to sit on him, for all the good it'll do me."

Scarlett smiled at the other woman once, before disappearing down the hallway, crossbow loaded, her blue eyes sharp for any signs of the enemy.

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"Where are they now?" Hawk demanded while Dial Tone and Mainframe worked frantically to track the escaped prisoners as one by one the security terminals shut down.

"Somewhere on level four." Mainframe said grimly, "Every time I get a camera to zero in, it shorts out. General somebody is screwing with our systems."

"Thank you Mainframe, I figured that out already." Hawk snapped angrily. "Can we slow them down?"

"No sir, all the door locks are part of the automated system. Those are down too."

Hawk growled and yanked the mic for the loud speak up to his face. _**"All JOEs on levels three and five converge on all level four stairwells. Cover the doors and don't let anything through." **_He turned his attention to the desk jockeys near him. "Shut down all the elevators that run through level four. I want those prisoners stopped here. Do _not_ let them get topside."

Mainframe nodded as his hands flew over the keyboard, rerouting power and trying to break through the sudden flood of encryption in the JOE system. "Damn it. Who ever the hell is doing this, they're either really good or really lucky."

"I'm going to go with really good." Dial Tone replied, her normally cheerful face grim. "I've got three camera up on level four, no sound though."

"Put it on the screen Dial Tone." Hawk ordered, leaning on his cane heavily as he hobbled around the computer terminal. "I want to see who managed to break out of those cells."

Two of the video screens lit up with grainy footage of the halls and three prisoners running full tilt towards the stairwells. The footage was too bad to make out faces, but when the tallest of the three ran under one of the lights, it reflected oddly off his head. "Damn it its Destro." Hawk spat. "Two guess one who's running with him."

_**"This is Tunnel Rat, I'm at the top of the stairs and prepping to move in on the prisoners." **_The Brooklyn JOE's accented voice huffed through the bullpen's speakers. _**"Any JOEs in the hall get **__**out, dropping smoke grenades and knockout gas." **_

"Do it Rat." Hawk said, "The hall looks clear from our camera views."

_**"Roger that." **_

__The hall suddenly filled with smoke from Rat's grenades. "All JOEs move in, go go go." Hawk ordered.

Scarlett loaded her crossbow with a concussive bolt and carefully took aim through the smoke from Rat's grenades. The gas powered crossbow could shoot an arrow with as much power as any hand gun, but was far more adaptable. The bolt hit the wall behind where she guessed the prisoners to be, and on contact, rocked the hall with the force of the blast. Anything close to it would have been knocked cold instantly. "Targets down," She said into her headset mic. "HD, Roadblock with me. Let's bag and tag these snakes."

The three troopers nodded and moved into the smoke in a solid formation. "What the hell?" Roadblock's voice was angry. "Where'd those fool's go? It ain't cool yo."

_**"What's going on up there JOEs?" **_Hawks voice rang out through their earpeices.

Scarlett searched the hallway and kicked a door in frustration. "They gone General. All three of them vanished into the smoke."

_**"Wait what?" **_Breaker this time, _**"No that isn't possible. They have to be there somewhere."**_

"Well, they're not." Heavy Duty replied irritated. "Just like Scarlett said, all three of them vanished into thin air." He sniffed and wrinkled his nose. "Smells foul in here too all of a sudden. Like burned rubber or something."

Hawk sighed over the comms. _**"Alright JOEs, as you were. We'll need to work on figuring out what in the hell just happened here. There'll be a full briefing as soon as we have any information."**_

Scarlett growled and ran a hand through her hair angrily. "Damn it." She looked at the two larger JOEs. "Alright I'm heading back to my quarters, there's a hot shower and a coffee waiting for me."

Rat came from around Heavy Duty and leered at Scarlett, "Not to mention the ninja-man is gonna wonder where his girl wandered off to without him."

"Rat, shut up before I shut you up." The red haired JOE told him in exasperation. She rested her crossbow against one shoulder and cracker her neck loudly. When the infiltration specialist let out a whistle directed at her, she simpled flipped him off and slammed the door behind her.

Heavy Duty shook his head at his teammate. "Tunnel Rat, when that woman feeds you your own _cajones_ I'm not going to do a thing to help you."

The smaller JOE just laughed out loud and clapped his friend on the shoulder. "HD, that woman won't do that, she loves my New York charm too much."

"She's still gonna feed you your balls one day little man." Roadblock told him, "And if it ain't her, Snake'll do it."

Rat shuddered, "Ulgh, I'll bet the ninja would enjoy it too."

"Hell Rat _anybody _would enjoy teaching you a lesson in manners." HD laughed and jabbed his thumb at the still smoke filled hallway, "Let's get this mess sorted out then, or we'll miss out on Roadblock's latest baking spree."

The chef chuckled, "I don't think so HD, I baked enough muffins and pastries to feed the whole PIT for a month."


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: _I do not own GI JOE, if I did Ripcord would have never been kissed by Scarlett and Baroness wouldn't have played Hard-To-Get with Destro. Also, Storm Shadow wouldn't have been dumped in the ocean. No money is being made from this so don't bother suing me, you won't get anything. I own nothing except the plot of this story and the word processor it was typed on._**

**SUMMERY: They say revenge is a dish best served cold. Brothers separated by a lie, a lover struggles for her man's freedom and two soldiers search for answers before it's too late. **

**A/N: Ok, so I goofed when I listed Zolpidem as a med to help Snake sleep/ act as a pain killer. It's actually used to treat insomnia and I apologize for the error. Just goes to show that I need to spend a bit more time researching these things. I'm not going to bother changing it because I'm not sure how to fix the chapters yet. **

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Slimy. That was the only word that really fit how Tommy felt when he opened his eyes. After a few seconds he took note that the pain from the hypothermia and the injuries from his duel with Snake Eyes were gone, as was the almost perpetual migraines that had been plaguing him for as long as he could remember. Running a hand through his dark hair, he felt more the the slime-like liquid covering it as well as the rest of his body.

_"Master Storm Shadow, you have awakened." _A synthetic female voice chirped from beside the door.

He looked up to see one of the E.R.M.A units looking at him expectantly. A vaguely female shaped android, with bright green optics and sleek silver body plating. This one for some odd reason was wearing a doctor's lab coat and a pair of horn rimmed glasses, a stethoscope draped around its spindly neck. In 'her' hands she held a neatly folded pair of white slacks and a dark blue button up shirt. _"I have repaired all of the damage to your systems and you should now find yourself to be at full operating capacity." _She set the pile of clothes on the table beside him. _"The steam showers on this level are still operating so please feel free to wash yourself."_

The white ninja stared at her for a moment, "What is your designation?" He asked, this machine was acting very strangely for one of Destro's creations. Either it had an exceptional AI system or it's programming was much broader than any of the other drones he himself had worked with.

The android looked at him in an almost, puzzled manner. _"I am Emergency Response Medical Android unit EVI-8419. I am the personal medical android of the Lady Baroness." _The unit stared at him almost hopefully. _"Master Storm Shadow, do you know where my Lady has gone to?"_

"No I don't." Tommy snapped, grabbing the clothes and heading for the shower. "Now tel me what the hell is going on here."

_"Would you like a full report of our current status?" _The android asked, following him like some kind of strange robotic dog.

"Fine."

_"All enemy troops have been withdrawn from our territory though this facility has suffered much damage and many casualties. This facility is currently operating at 23% of it's optimum potential. 38% of this base has suffered flooding and cannot be salvaged. 39% is currently undergoing maintenance by the automated emergency systems."_

"Are any of the launch bays still intact? Can I leave?" Tommy demanded.

_"Not at this current time. The elevators through the ice shelf are still being repaired. The estimated time it will take for their completion is 15 hours. However, it appears that there are two Skystrikers intact in the ice cave above this facility. However I am uncertain if they remain in working order." _The android looked at the ninja expectantly.

"What?" Tommy finally demanded, the damned thing was creepy.

_"Sir, I was wondering what you would like to have done about the remains of the virus in your internal systems?"_

Tommy stared. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

_"During my scans, I discovered a virus in your systems. I have deactivated it, however the individual units remain in your bloodstream."_

"Wait, what do you mean, 'individual units?" The white ninja asked. "Do you mean I have some kind of computer virus in my blood?"

_"That is correct. However I was able to deactivate the virus in the unit's programming, however they will require new programming to they will not degrade and cause you further health problems."_

"Further?"

_"These units appear to have originated from your brain stem, and have altered the neural relays in your brain. Though the long term damage caused by the units appears to be minimum. Most likely resulting in severe head aches." _The android's eyes glowed brighter and her voice seemed almost pleased, _"The M.A.R.S medical facilities here have allowed me to repair nearly all of this damage however and you should suffer no lasting effects from the virus."_

As he dressed, the Arashikage heir ignored the android, his mind focused on the information she'd just handed him. How in all the hells could a computer virus get into hiss bloodstream? It wasn't possible, hell he'd nearly failed the computer classes his uncles had insisted that he attend, but there was no way a digital virus could infect a human, even with the amount of technology that Destro may have had at his disposal.

"You said it would take fifteen hours for the elevators to be functioning again?" Tommy asked.

_"Yes."_

"Very well. Find any information about this 'virus' you were talking about and start packing anything that you might need in order to do your job." He glared at the machine who looked expectantly at him. "But it must be able to fit on one of the Skystrikers so only what you figure might be the most important."

_"Of course Master Storm Shadow. Everything shall be prepared."_

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In the large JOE training area, Ripcord was burning through reps on one of the heavy automated sets of equipment. It had some of the same tech as those Delta6 suits, so the damn thing actually would actually compensate when the operator started to tire, effectively eliminating the need for a spotter. Which was pretty sweet since he really didn't want to deal with anyone else right now. He frowned to himself, thinking back to the exchange that had happened the other day in Scarlett's quarters. He knew that he was a good pilot, hell he was one of the best, so far the only one he'd found who could out fly him in this unit was a guy the JOEs had recruited from Australia, named Ace. Nice guy but that accent was thick as hell.

So anyway, he considered himself a brave guy who was capable of taking pretty much anything on. Although those waitresses in that seedy San Sebastiao restaurant had been..... unexpected. He was happy to admit to himself, that Scarlett was a good looking woman and he was more than happy to chase after her, after all it would be a pleasure to get his tailpipe kicked by such a fine lady. But that guy... The Zen master was the odd little extra that she couldn't be sure about. He could never tell quite what was going on between him and Scarlett, oh it was easy to tell that they were close, but beyond that it was all gray. Rip wasn't going to chase after anyone else's girl no way, his momma raised him better than that, But the thing with folks who were trained in covert ops, it was real hard to tell who was doing what, or dating who.

He sighed and slid the weight bar back into its space overhead. And the other thing that nagged at him, was what he'd seen of Snake Eyes face. Looked like the poor bastard was on the wrong side of a shrapnel explosion. He'd seen a lot of the same back in Iraq, but never that bad, or across such a vulnerable spot. Those scars made it pretty obvious why the ninja wore a mask all the time, and Rip was positive that if it hadn't been for his own lame timing the other night, he'd have never found out at all.

Rip sighed and got to his feet with a soft groan. For now, he'd carry on business as usual, no reason to change anything about his routine. Sooner or later he figured Scarlett would drop all the subtlety crap and tell him straight out what was what, either that or someone else would. His own brand of information gathering. It worked well for him back in South America and no doubt would work really good here too. Just a matter of time.

The pilot sighed and wiped his face with a towel lying on the table nearby. Of course, patience wasn't exactly what he was well known for.

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The GI JOEs resident ninja commando splashed water into his face and watched it swirl down the drain. It would have been nice, he thought, if the bad dreams and overwhelming sense of _wrongness_ would vanish down the drain with the water. The stitches across his back itched and burned slightly and he glared at his scarred reflection in the mirror. The med's Doc had given him to help him sleep had done something to his balance, and it was almost impossible to stand up straight. He prodded the row of black stitches across his abdomen and winced. _Damn, those are going to make PT a bitch, _he thought as he taped a clean dressing over the stitches. Grabbing the pile of clothes from hook on the back of the door. Underwear, gray camouflage cargo pants, sock and boots which thankfully had velcro instead of laces, Snake very much doubted that he could manage the dexterity required to tie them right now. A long sleeved black shirt, gloves, wrist comm and his soft training mask all in place and he was ready to go ahead and face the day.

His first stop after leaving his and Shana's shared quarters was the small room which was supposed to be his quarters but he hadn't used as such in almost four years. Pushing open the door, the ninja moved across the drab carpeting silently, and turned on the desk lamp, illuminating the small framed photograph and the set of carefully cleaned dog-tags hung off of the frame. Snake Eyes bowed in front of the memorial once and carefully lit one of the small cones of incense that sat on a plate in front of the photograph.

Stepping back, he began to sign, [_Hello brother. I am still trying to convince Soft Master to have your name written on your family grave, but he will not listen to me. Hell, he's never listened to me so I guess I should not be so surprised by it.] _He paused for a moment, unsure of what he wanted to say next, [_I know you probably won't forgive me for what I did to you, I can't forgive myself. But I am still trying to understand why you did what you did, why you left us like that. And... some of the things that you told me before you died, they are confusing. You spoke of things that never happened to you, to us.] _Snake sighed and dropped his hands, before bowing to the small memorial again.

_I __**am**__ going to find out what happened to you Tommy,_ He thought fiercely, _I swear it, my brother._

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Later, down in the section of the JOE training area which had become affectionately referred to as the Dojo, Snake Eyes was carefully moving through one of his more basic katas. This one was considerably slower than the normal set he practiced, but anything much more strenuous would probably tear his stitches resulting in Doc's ire. Not a thing any sane man wanted.

He finished the kata a bit more off balanced than he would have liked, and felt someone staring at him from across the room. Turning, the commando spotted Beach Head glaring at him from underneath the gray balaclava he favored. The taller man wasn't saying anything, but his disapproval of Snake being in the training area was incredibly obvious. The master sergeant would of course know who Doc had and hadn't cleared to train due to injuries. Snake Eyes did appreciate that Beach was going to let him do what he wanted, for now anyway.

Beach nodded at him once before turning to yell at one of the Rawhides who'd fallen off the top of one of the obstacles Beach was pushing them through. "Hey! You idiots' git you're asses in gear! You think that kinda crap is gonna slide out in the field?! If it gets you killed that's yer own damn problem, but if it gets yer team killed, that makes it my problem! Now get up, and do it again, **FROM THE START!!**"

Snake shook his head in amusement, Beach Head was going to run those Rawhides into the ground. He hissed and doubled over as a sudden burst of burning pain shot across his back from the sword wound. _What the hell? _He thought, pressing a hand carefully against the gash across his shoulder, gritting his teeth against the pain. The training area was suddenly too hot, and sweat poured down his face under his mask. The room spun crazily and he reached out a hand to steady himself against the wall. Before he could fall flat on his face, a pair of strong arms grabbed him and held him steady.

"Oi Stone! Call Doc, git him up here pronto!" Beach Head yelled. He turned to his teammate and even through the cloth of his mask, Snake could feel how cool Beach's hand was. "Damn it Snakes yer burning up. What the hell were you thinking coming down here?" Beach demanded. He pulled one of the ninja's arms up over his shoulder to help him stumble towards the elevator down to the infirmary. "Outta mah way Rawhides! Got a sick man coming through." Beach shoved past Duke and Ripcord. Snake tilted his head as he watched the pair of them stare at Beach Head. He looked over at the taller man and blinked. _Why is Beach Head pink? _He wondered idly, a second later he realized that he must be hallucinating because Beach Head would never wear pink, or bunny ears. He shook his head hard, yep definitely hallucinating.

"Hey Doc," Beach Head called as he pushed open the door to the infirmary and helped his teammate sit on one of the empty beds. Snake had pulled off his mask and was staring up at the white ceiling with an odd expression on his face. "Thought you cleared Snake to be out of the infirmary? Cause he's burnin' up something fierce, and his back injury was acting up right before he almost passed out on the mats."

Doc sighed and snapped on a pair of surgical gloves, "He wasn't _supposed _to be in the training rooms at all. Probably ripped out a few stitches, help me get his shirt off would you?" Between the pair of them they had Snake stripped to the waist and staring at the sword wound in shock.

"Hey Doc, I ain't a medical guy, but that doesn't look right." Beach said quietly.

Doc looked equally shocked. "Yes Beach Head, that isn't right at all." He carefully prodded at the injury and frowned. Thin spidery black lines ran underneath the ninja's skin, spreading out from the sword wound which was swollen and a dark angry red color. Doc took a pair of thin sharp scissors and carefully sniped out a few of the stitches to reopen the injury. "Beach Han me that empty syringe over there wound you? And hold him still, this is probably going to hurt like hell." It only took a moment to slid the needle into the wound and fill the syringe with the thick black substance, but Snake's shoulder's shook hard even with Beach holding him in place, and a strangled cry came from his ruined throat.

Doc set the filled syringe on the tray and picked up the scissors again to finish cutting out the stitches. "Alright I'm going to cut these out now and clean the wound again Snake. Beach, go get the General for me, he's going to want to see this I think."

"You got it Doc."

Doc turned his full attention to the patient in front of him, and carefully filled another syringe with a local anesthetic and carefully injected it into the inflamed tissue around the wound. "I know you hate pain killers Snake, but if I don't numb you up a bit you won't be able to hold still long enough for me to work." The medical officer gave the medication a minute to take effect, before picking up a scalpel and beginning to lance the swollen area.

When Hawk arrived, he almost gagged on the heavy metallic scent that filled the infirmary. "Doc, what the hell's going on? I don't have time for this, we have three escaped prisoners if you didn't know already."

"I heard about it General." Doc said wryly, carefully dabbing blood and more of the black substance out of the cuts. "But this is serious, I cleaned these wounds when he was brought in two days ago," Doc set down his scalpel and picked up a small petri dish which held what looked to be some sort of black spiderweb. "I pulled these out of his back just now. I checked them under a microscope and they look like tiny filaments of some kind. They aren't organic that's for sure, if I was to guess I'd say that they're relate to those nanites that M.A.R.S developed on NATOs dime." Doc turned back to his work and carefully stripped away another layer of the black webs with his forceps, dropping it into the petri dish Hawk still held. "I'm gonna have them sent down to Breaker for him to analyze as soon as I'm done."

"Alright get to it as soon as you can." Hawk said, dropping the dish onto the medical tray carefully.

Doc frowned as he felt Snake Eyes wince as he tugged on another set of the filaments. "Snake, is that anesthetic wearing off?" The ninja nodded and Doc injected him again. "I wish you'd just take a damn painkiller, if your careful you shouldn't have a problem." Snake Eyes shook his head again and signed for Doc to continue.

_[I won't touch that stuff Doc, you know why.]_

"I do, and a lot of other people would say you're a masochist." Doc replied. He frowned as he realized that his patient was shaking with silent laughter at the statement. "Alright, quit moving or I'll cut something you'd rather I didn't."

Snake Eyes struggled to contain his hilarity, but whatever Doc was dosing him with was making it very difficult.

"Alright," Doc said finally, having finished sewing up the sword wound. "I've pulled out as much of these things as I can, but I want you to stay out of the gym and if you think anything, _anything _ could be wrong you get your ass back up here right away." Snake moved to put his shirt back on as Doc continued, "I'm going to take a few x-rays while you're still here too, and you're to come back every five hours for another set just to keep an eye on what these things are doing."

Snake sighed audibly but agreed and Doc beamed at him, "Great, now lets get started on that then, shall we?"

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**A/N: Ok everyone, time to review for me. Reviews feed this author's soul, and this author's soul is very very hungry.**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: _I do not own GI JOE, if I did Ripcord would have never been kissed by Scarlett and Baroness wouldn't have played Hard-To-Get with Destro. Also, Storm Shadow wouldn't have been dumped in the ocean. No money is being made from this so don't bother suing me, you won't get anything. I own nothing except the plot of this story and the word processor it was typed on. EVI-8419 is my own creation as I haven't been able to find an annoying robot sidekick anywhere in the JOEverse. _**

**SUMMERY: They say revenge is a dish best served cold. Brothers separated by a lie, a lover struggles for her man's freedom and two soldiers search for answers before it's too late.**

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, special thanks to Totenkinder Madchen for her offer to beta this story for me. To JasonLeeScottFan; Yes I do plan on using more of the COBRA characters from the comics who didn't show up in the movie, I'm not sure how or where they will show up as of yet, but there will be more of them [hopefully soon because my muse will not shut up lol.] **

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After a refreshingly hot shower to scrub the unflattering stink of burned rubber out of her hair and rather happily burning the prison clothing she'd worn for so long, Anastasia DeCobray was dressed head to toe in her leather and Kevlar bodysuit, the small silver COBRA emblem her brother had created stitched over the left breast. She carefully applied a coat of dark red lipstick and her favorite pair of glasses before deeming herself presentable. She glanced into the ornate mirror that hung in the lavish bathroom of her quarters in the the sprawling Scottish castle which was currently serving as their base of operations, and smiled slyly. "Well boys, the Baroness is back in action."

Spinning on her heel she marched through the doors towards the large laboratory where James and the Commander were working on the next stage of Rex's brilliant plan for world conquest. She swiped her key card through the lock on the laboratory door and stepped inside as it slid open with a hiss. The femme fatal couldn't help but grin as she watched James and the Commander argue very loudly about something that they had apparently assumed the other would be taking care of.

"What kind of incompetent moron are you Destro?!" the Commander yelled loudly, slamming his fist into the control panel in front of him. "You failed to defend our arctic headquarters, you _failed _to create the necessary panic required from our first tactical strike using the nanites, and you _failed _to keep GI JOE from discovering how to shut down the warhead nanites!" At this point Anastasia was sure that her dear little brother was frothing at the mouth from rage. He still wore his skull-like respirator, but had pulled up the hood on his ankle length black coat up to cover the top of his scarred and bald head, it made him look far more intimidating than she ever thought he could before the bombing.

"My dear, _Commander_," Destro drawled, his shining silver head glinting under the bright florescent lights, "Perhaps you do not understand what exactly we have achieved from all of this." The Scotsman held up his hand as he began to tick off examples on his fingers, "We have finished our work on the nanomite warheads and have successfully tested them in a combat situation. Our assault on the Pit not only revealed it's location but also the various security systems including the JOEs response time when threatened. Our neo-vipers gathered a good deal of information from the Paris mission on the JOE team as well as the abilities of their Delta6 suits which will prove invaluable as a part of the B.A.T project. And our little chameleon in Washington DC has assured me that the next steps of our plan will follow the script to the letter, so to speak." Destro glanced at Baroness, "We also had a successful test of the M.A.S.S device, though the circumstances were not quite what we had been hoping for,"

"Hmm, perhaps." the Commander replied. He began to pace back and forth, hands grasped tightly behind his back in a manner that made it clear that he was deep in thought. Finally he stopped and turned his attention back to the other two, "Destro, how long will it take to retrieve the necessary components to have the M.A.S.S device back up and running again?"

Destro frowned and took a small hand held computer from the pocket of his coat and began to search through the files it held. "Our rather unexpected use of it took a hefty toll on the catalysts the machine requires to function, however our Arctic base had been located less than half a mile from the mine containing the radioactive crystals it requires and due to the amount of time we had remained hidden there we managed to retrieve enough of the material to last for several months at the very least. It is merely a matter of having the material transported here." He plugged the computer into the control panel the Commander had been beating in anger. Pressing a few of the controls he caused a large rotating hologram of the earth to appear floating in the middle of the laboratory. Using a small laser pointer, he highlighted two more areas on the globe. "The second element is here, in the Ring of Fire in South America. Unfortunately it is located in what is now a national park and will no doubt require a good deal of political maneuvering in order to retrieve it without drawing any unnecessary attention to ourselves." He moved to the next point on the floating map. "The third and most critical of the elements is located in a narrow fissure in the Laurentian Abyss. Unfortunately, the majority of our deep sea equipment was lost during the JOE attack, so we will be forced to either rely on some of my prototype androids, which remain as of yet, untested for such tasks," He glanced over at Baroness, "Or, we could steal the necessary equipment, which risks revealing more of our plan to the United Nations and NATO." The arms dealer shrugged. "Either way it is a risk."

"So we must go with the one which has the potential for less overall damage to our plans." the Commander finished. He sighed and continued his pacing. "Baroness," He said finally, turning to face his sister, "Use your connections to locate the necessary equipment for us, for now we shall use Destro's prototypes but I want to have our Plan B ready in case of failure. Destro, make whatever preparations you may need for your androids mission to the Abyss. We must have the other two substances as quickly as possible and as much as possible. When the time comes for us to make our move we must not leave any room for possible error. You are both dismissed." The Commander returned his attention to the computer monitor in front of him and began looking through the programming for his nanomites.

"Sir," one of the Neo Vipers entered the room and saluted sharply, "Doctor Mindbender has been successfully retrieved from the Switzerland hospital as you ordered and is being transported to this facility. He is expected within the next few hours."

"Excellent, make sure that he is brought to me as soon as he arrives." The Commander ordered without looking up from his work. "While you're there have a report sent to me on the status of the satellite, remind them that we are running on a very tight schedule, and I am ready to start cutbacks if the Rattler is not in orbit by the end of the week." The Neo Viper saluted again and left the laboratory silently, remaining in the same room as the Commander when he was working was never the best of ideas.

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Mainframe frowned as he worked on the analysis of the filaments that Doc had pulled out of Snake Eye's back the day before. Breaker had taken one look at the mass of micro circuitry and immediately passed it off him with a warning that Doc wanted it finished ASAP. He slumped back in his chair and ran a hand through his trimmed hair, these things were, well completely genius. As tiny as they were it was plainly obvious that they had either been surgically implanted or somehow grew inside of the commando's injury. Of course how they had gotten there in the first place was still a mystery.

He held up the magnified images of the nanomites that were found inside of Ana Lewis and compared them to the pictures of these new ones. They were similar, but these new machines were more refined than the ones that Ana had running through her bloodstream. They also seemed to have a different base programming, which was becoming increasingly difficult to determine. "Blaine my boy," he mumbled, "This one has got ya beat for sure." He snapped the cover on the petri dish and stretched. He'd grab a coffee from the canteen and get back to this after he'd taken a breather. He slid the dish further back on his desk so it wasn't in danger of being knocked off accidentally before walking past Dial Tone and Breaker on his way to the elevator, not bothering to shut off the lamp on his desk, he'd only be gone for a few minutes.

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Storm Shadow carefully eased the Skystriker onto the sand at what he hoped was within range of the GI JOE security alarms. He also hoped that they would be willing to talk before they tried to kill him. "Alright, lets go." he said to EVI-8419 who had already begun to remove the straps holding her into the gunner's seat of the aircraft. "And cross your fingers that they want to know how I'm alive instead of just shooting us."

_"Master Storm Shadow, how does 'crossing my fingers' affect the odds of hostile actions against us by the enemy?" _EVI asked in an almost curious tone of voice. _"Or is this one of the figures of speech, you were informing me of during our trip?"_

"It's a figure of speech EVI." The ninja sighed, pulling up the white face mask to filter out the dust threatening to choke him. He dropped a heavy duffel bag containing his swords, uniform and the heavy longbow and arrows that had made him so famous among his fellow Arashikage. "But when the JOEs come out here with guns pointed at us, drop to your knees and put your hands behind your head. More than likely, they'll shoot me first."

Sure enough, as soon as the words left his mouth they found themselves surrounded by six fully armed and very angry looking soldiers. EVI did as instructed, dropping to her knees with a metallic crunch against the sand and placed her hands behind her head. _"Please do no shoot us. I have spent much time repairing my Master Storm Shadow and do not wish him damaged again so soon."_ Tommy glanced at his robotic partner and winced as he saw her hold up on hand her middle and index fingers crossed. _"See? I have even crossed my fingers to lower the odds of your hostile actions." _

The JOEs surrounding them looked at one another curiously their confusion evident. Storm Shadow took their hesitation to speak. "I have information that is vital to your work against James McCullen and his nanomites. Believe this if nothing else." He nodded at EVI. "The android has all of the files we were able to download from the Arctic base related to the nanomite project McCullen was working on."

A broad chested mustached JOE in a drill instructor's campaign hat stepped forward and yanked Storm Shadow's arms tightly behind his back. "Alright then," He said gruffly, fastening a pair of energy cuffs around his wrists before hauling him to his feet and shoving him towards the sand covered door leading to the elevator down to the Pit. The JOE who had arrested Storm Shadow glared at EVI. "You too robot girly."

_"Please do not damage Master Storm Shadow." _EVI said, climbing to her feet and picking up the duffel bag Tommy had dropped as well as the backpack of medical equipment she had brought along. _"I have spent much time in repairing him." _

"Yeah yeah you said so already." One of the other JOEs grumbled, "I don't see why we don't just shoot 'em both and be done with it."

"Because we're the good guys, and we ask questions before we start shooting." The big man shot back. "Besides, from what I hear, Doc is gonna want to have words with the robot girly, if she really has the information he," he prodded Storm Shadow's shoulder with the barrel of his AK-47, "says she's got."

69

Locked in a prison cell with the most literal minded individual on the face of the planet was not the sort of thing that anyone would enjoy. Unfortunately, his cell mate also was full of questions about absolutely _everything _she had seen in the GI JOE base that she had seen during their trip from the desert to the cell block nine levels down. EVI was currently seated on the floor of the cell, still dressed in her lab coat and glasses fiddling with a Rubix cube that one of the JOEs had given her in an attempt to get a bit of peace and quiet from her chattering. Tommy sat crossed legged on the flat bunk that was bolted to the wall, eyes closed as he tried to meditate and calm his mind for the face to face encounter that was bound to happen soon. He still wasn't entirely sure what he would do when faced with his old friend. An apology seemed the best way to go but it somehow felt shallow, how do you apologize for dishonoring your family name? For betraying someone who was closer than a brother and then spending the next several years trying to kill him. No, there was no apology that could mend that sort of broken bond.

_"Master Storm Shadow, I still do not understand the point of this object? Am I supposed to create a pattern from the colored blocks?" _EVI seemed to be glaring at the Rubix cube in frustration. She had created several interesting patterns out of the colors but still hadn't managed to solve the puzzle. _"The guard told me that I needed to match the colors, but this is not working for none of these colors match together. Not how Lady Baroness told me colors were supposed to match."_

"You need to move all the reds to one side, all the yellows to another side so on and so forth for all of the colors." Tommy replied. He had a few moments of silence before the android began smacking the puzzle on the floor in frustration. She reminded him for a moment of himself as a child, getting easily frustrated with a task he couldn't perform perfectly on his first try. It had taken a long time for him to become as patient as his brother. "Here give it to me." He ordered, opening his eyes and holding out a hand.

EVI placed the puzzle in his palm and watched fascinated as he spun the cube. "For someone who can perform microscopic neuro-surgery," he said with a wry grin, "you are one of the most impatient creatures I have ever met." After a few more spins with the cube he held it up, each side a solid color. "It takes practice to solve it EVI and this is the first time you've seen one." He twisted it again mixing up the colors. "Try again, but this time try to look at the larger picture, rather than the individual shifts of the puzzle."

EVI nodded and settled back to try the puzzle again, more slowly this time. Tommy grinned as he watched her, only to have his attention diverted by the JOEs commanding officer who rapped sharply on the bars of the cell with his cane to gain their attention. "Tomio Arashikage, I never thought you would ever be back in the Pit. I hear that you've brought vital information for us, so then lets hear it." General Hawk's eyes were cold as he watched the white ninja get to his feet

Tommy shook his head and moved closer to the bars of the cell., "Not me, EVI has all of McCullen's files downloaded into her processors." He pointed at the robot. "I came to deliver her safely as well as offer any assistance I could provide to your organization."

"Oh? Why the sudden change of heart? Last I saw you were eyes deep in McCullen's operation." Hawk replied grimly. "I don't like traitors, even when they come from the enemy's forces."

"Serving McCullen was a betrayal to myself." Tommy said, his tone bitter. "Serving as his errand boy was a betrayal to my clan, my name and myself. Now I must do all I can to regain my honor."

Both men had their attention diverted by someone clapping from behind Hawk. They looked over to see Snake Eyes standing there. He pulled up the bottom of his mask to reveal his scarred mouth, and his hands moved quickly as he mouthed words. Hawk frowned because he didn't recognize the sign language that the ninja was using, but Storm Shadow chuckled and replied in Japanese. Their conversation was brief but at the end, Snake Eyes pulled a set of polished dog tags from the pocket of his pants and held them out to the other ninja through the bars of the cell.

"I can't believe you actually kept those all these years." Storm Shadow told his brother in English. "Sumimasen, ototo. oyurishi kudasai.**"

Snake Eyes shook his head and offered the tags again, _[You are my brother. There isn't anything for me to forgive.] _He signed firmly, tugging down his mask as he did so.

Suddenly EVI spoke up, _"Master Storm Shadow, I have solved the puzzle!" _All three men looked down at the robot to see her hold out the Rubix cube. Tommy sighed while Snake shook with silent laughter. The android had pulled the cube apart and rebuilt it with the colors lined up as Tommy had showed her, holding the pieces together using what looked like stripped electrical wires. It was neat, and well done but painfully obvious that she really didn't have any idea what the point of a Rubix cube was.

"Yes EVI," Tommy said running a hand over his face tiredly. "You did exactly what I said to do." _Even though that wasn't what I meant. Why do I even bother trying to explain things to her anyway? She'll never get the hang of it,_ he thought. Looking over at Hawk he continued, "My swords are yours General as is any information that EVI might have to offer, no strings attached."

Hawk thought about it for several minutes before nodding. "The enemy of my enemy as they say." he replied finally, "Lets have Mainframe take a look at whatever information you've brought us and see if we can do something about these nanomites once and for all."

EVI stared at Snake Eyes, her eyes glowing brightly as she stared at his abdomen injury through his shirt and inspected his torso carefully. _"Master Storm Shadow, this one is damaged. Elevated temperature, and heart rate. His injuries appear to be infected with a virus and should be treated immediately before there is permanent damage." _Her optics dimmed to their normal intensity as she looked back at Tommy. _"This is a variation of the virus I purged from your own systems Master Storm Shadow, but I am unfamiliar with it's specifications."_

Tommy turned his dark eyes onto the JOE general. "General, I think that your technicians should begin to review the information we have brought a quickly as possible."

General Hawk nodded and ran his own key-card through the lock on the cell door. "Agreed, lets get you three down to the infirmary. Doc's probably wondering where his patient of the month ran off too right about now."

Even under the mask Snake managed to look a bit shame faced, prompting a laugh from Hawk and Tommy. EVI simply tilted her head and stared at them. _"Why would anyone be considered a 'patient of the month'? Is this more humor that I do not understand Master Storm Shadow? Could you please clarify this for me?"_

This merely caused the three men to laugh even harder.

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** _**I am sorry brother, please forgive me.**_** Japanese, translated using a very handy pocket dictionary. Forgive me if I got the grammar wrong, I don't speak more than a few phrases of Japanese, but if anyone else does feel free to correct me.**

**A/N: The plot bunnies have attacked my brain yet again resulting in one more chapter of HHNF for you all to enjoy. I offer cake to anyone who can name the JOE who arrested Storm Shadow and his robot sidekick, I made it pretty obvious I hope, XD. Please remember to review, they feed my hungry author soul. Until next time everyone!**


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: **_**I do not own GI JOE. If I did, Ripcord would have never been kissed by Scarlett and Baroness wouldn't have played hard-to-get with Destro. Also, Storm Shadow wouldn't have been dumped in the ocean. No money is being made from this, so don't bother suing me. You won't get anything. I own nothing except the plot of this story and the word processor it was typed on. EVI-8419 is my own creation, as I haven't been able to find an annoying robot sidekick anywhere in the JOEverse. **_

**SUMMARY: They say revenge is a dish best served cold. Brothers separated by a lie, a lover struggles for her man's freedom, and two soldiers search for answers before it's too late. **

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Duke stared miserably down into his cup of coffee while Rip chatted away amiably about the latest Pit gossip. His gut twisted painfully as he thought about Ana's escape from the prison—and worse, how it was entirely his own fault. It was the same feeling that had plagued him for months after Rex's 'death' in Eandok, when that bunker exploded. It had been a miracle he hadn't gotten himself, or the rest of Alpha Team, killed in the missions that followed. He'd barely slept, ate only when Rip dragged him off for a bite, and did everything he could to keep his attention away from his catastrophic failure.

He was responsible for it all. He'd let her down, failed at the only thing she'd asked of him, and now she was working with known terrorists. Because of him, she had helped destroy the Eiffel Tower, and a whole city was still feeling the aftereffects. It was all over the news: the French minister of defense still had Paris locked down, most of its residents had been evacuated, and teams of scientists were combing through the mess to make sure that every trace of the nanomites was gone. What a mess.

With an effort, Duke pulled himself out of his gloomy thoughts as he realized Rip was trying to get his attention.

"Duke. Hey, Duke," Rip called, poking his friend several times in the side of the head for emphasis. "Hey, man, what's up with you? You've been staring into that mug for fifteen minutes. Pit coffee ain't _that _bad."

"Nothing. I was just thinking," Duke replied.

"Bullshit. I know that look. If I patented that look, I'd make enough cash to buy my own damn jet, you use it so often." Ripcord nudged his friend on the arm, "But enough about you. Did you hear a damn thing I've been saying?"

"Nope," Duke replied mock-cheerfully. "Too busy contemplating my coffee." Rip smacked his head with the palm of one hand.

"Hauser, that is just not cool." He glared at the blond soldier. "What I was trying to tell you was that the ninja we fought in Paris, well, _I_ fought in Paris--"

"Got your ass kicked by, you mean," Duke interjected. Ripcord rolled his eyes.

"_Anyway_," the paratrooper continued, slightly irritated, "he's here. Dusty and Sgt. Slaughter caught him and some robot chick snooping around the hanger entrance. They brought him down to the cells before the general took them both to talk to Doc and Scarlett. Far as I know, they're all still down in the infirmary."

Duke moved so fast that he almost knocked over the chair he'd been sitting in. All coffee musings were forgotten as he grabbed Rip by the arm. "Let's go, Rip," he said shortly, hauling him towards the elevators. "I want to have a few words with our ninja friend."

Ripcord stared at him. Duke had changed gears faster than a Camaro, going from depressed-and-brooding to authoritative-and-spouting-orders in seconds. He had to admit, though, that it was as good a way of dealing with the situation as any. The guy's old fiancé disappears after her brother's funeral, then shows up a few years later with a new look, new name and some seriously whacked-out attitude problems. _Then_ he arrests her for being a terrorist, only to have her escape along with the supposedly dead brother and her new man. It was enough to drive any other man to drink—more than coffee, anyway.

"Listen, Duke. I know how you feel about this guy being here," Ripcord said finally, as the doors to the infirmary came into view. "But really, just try not to do anything--"

Duke ignored him. He marched through the doors like the second coming of General Patton, brushing past Scarlett and Doc to aim straight at the Asian man. His fist connected with Storm Shadow's jaw with an eloquent and final thud, sending him flying into a tray of medical equipment.

"--rash," Rip completed lamely. He groaned and helped Scarlett pick up the scattered equipment.

The blond sergeant wasn't paying attention. He grabbed the front of Tommy's shirt and slammed him up against the wall. "Where is she?" he demanded through clenched teeth. "Ana! Where the hell is she?"

Tommy coughed and rubbed his jaw. "Nice to see you again as well," he said wryly. "And I do not know where 'Ana' is. I haven't any idea who you're talking about."

"Don't fuck with me, ninja boy," Duke hissed. "You were with her in Paris. Now _where is she_?"

Scarlett placed a hand on Duke's arm and rather forcefully pulled him away from Storm Shadow. "Duke," she said as calmly as she could, "ease down. Like it not, he's going to be useful. He has information about McCullen's nanomites, and we need it." She nodded at the lightbox behind him, where scans of the nanomites were hanging. "We found these, growing, in one of the people who had been in Paris during the attack."

She glanced at Doc, who shrugged. As Duke let go of the white ninja, she pulled down one of the films and held it out for his inspection. "These things have attached themselves to the patient's spine and are spreading out like a spider web."

"What the hell?" Duke said, frowning as he inspected the scan. Medicine wasn't his specialty, but the nanomites lit up brightly on the x-ray, making it obvious where they were. But he knew enough from his own stays in hospitals that the crisp white spiderweb lines didn't belong in anyone's body.

"I know," Scarlett said. "And Storm Shadow's android friend over here has the data we need to start figuring out what the hell these things are supposed to be doing." She took the scan from him and stuck it back onto the lightbox. "Everybody's tense about what happened in Paris, Duke. I know that. But part of being a JOE is keeping your eye on the mission. This is what's important right now. So try to avoid hitting him in the meantime, all right?"

Duke nodded—reluctantly—and turned to leave, almost crashing into a tall female-shaped android with silver plating. It was peeling off a pair of surgical gloves, the fingers worryingly red with blood. "_Hello. Are you the next patient in need of assistance?" t_he android asked. Before Duke could reply her eyes turned bright green, and a thin beam of light scanned him from head to toe. "_You appear to be undamaged. What sort of malfunction are you suffering from?"_

"He's not a patient, EVI," Doc chortled, pulling the screen around one of the beds tightly closed. "Cut him some slack."

The JOE medic had stripped off his own gloves and dropped them into the biohazard bin by the door. "Scarlett," he said, turning to the red-headed soldier. The humor dropped from his tone, and Duke could see Scarlett's shoulders tense. "We pulled out as many of the damned things as we could," Doc said, "but at this rate, we'll never be able to get all of them."

Scarlett raised her head as Doc used a pen on the to circle a knot in the nanomite web, right over the vertebrae on the x-ray. "From what EVI and I've found, this here is the source of the problem. With the equipment I've got here, there's no way I'm going to even try to touch it." Doc pulled off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. "The little bastard's wired into the spinal cord. Modern medicine is good, but there isn't anything refined enough to even have a halfway decent chance of prying it out."

"Fuck," Scarlett said quietly. She ran a hand over her eyes, taking deep breaths in an attempt to control herself.

"_I am sorry that I cannot offer any more data to aid you," _EVI said, subdued. "_But I do not have anything else in my database that could be of use." _The android was obviously upset, and Doc patted her comfortingly on the shoulder. Duke was pretty sure that he would have done it for Scarlett, but Scarlett would have punched him. She obviously didn't want to talk to anybody for a minute, and it was pretty damn tactful of Doc to give her her space.

"It's all right, kid," the medic was saying to EVI. "You've done everything you can." Doc pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. "Here. How about you go ahead and pick up a few things for me from the mess? Ripcord'll show you where it is—right, Rip?" The look he shot the pilot was firm and didn't leave any room for the younger man to say no.

"Um, yeah. Come on, girl, I'll show you where to find this stuff." Rip glanced at the list and raised an eyebrow at the medic, who shrugged.

"_Master Ripcord, why is it called a 'mess'? Is it a very unorganized area?" _EVI piped up. Rip laughed at the android's confused tone of voice, and took her arm as he led her out of the infirmary. "_I do not understand," _she said as they left. "_What did I say that you seem to find so amusing?"_

Doc shook his head at the pair before turning back to Scarlett, who had had a moment to compose herself. "Anyway, Scarlett," he said quietly, "you can go see him now. He's probably still out of it, though."

"Thanks, Doc." She disappeared behind the curtain, and Duke heard the scrape of a chair against the tile floor as she sat down next to the patient.

He turned to glare at Storm Shadow, who shrugged. "I'm not done with you yet," Duke snapped. "I want to know where Ana is."

"I don't know anyway named 'Ana,'" Storm Shadow retorted. He moved towards the door. "But let's leave the lady to her patient. We can continue our conversation somewhere else."

"And why should I believe that you aren't going to take off as soon as we go out that door?" Duke replied sourly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Storm Shadow sighed and held up his hands, still tightly bound with the energy cuffs from his original arrest. "Between these and the tracer locked around my ankle—and the fact that we are, if you remember, surrounded by your heavily armed comrades—I highly doubt that I am going to have any success with an escape attempt."

Duke grabbed the ninja by the arm. "Don't give me that. I've see the way you move, snake-breath, and the only place I feel comfortable having this conversation is with you on the other side of bulletproof glass."

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Scarlett ran a hand through her partner's short blond hair and inhaled deeply. This whole situation was completely _fucked up._

What with the prisoner escape, these nanomites—and now, Snakes' injuries. It had never happened like that before. Once they won a fight, that was supposed to be the end of it, job finished, bad guys handed off to the proper authorities and the next mission assigned. All of this running back and forth made her very nervous. And with Snake-Eyes, the completely in-control and unstoppable ninja master, being laid out flat in a hospital bed . . . life had turned completely upside-down.

Not that she would ever admit it: appearances must be kept up. She picked up the newspaper that Doc had left lying on the nightstand and frowned at the front page, grateful for the distraction it provided. _**SWEDISH MARINE BIOLOGY LAB RAIDED, **_the front page shouted in bold print.

"Huh. Who the hell would take this stuff?" she mused, flipping the newspaper open to the article in question. "Other than deep sea fisherman anyway. Listen to this, Snakes. 'In a surprise attack on a Swedish marine biology laboratory, a team of unknown individuals detonated several high explosives to create damage and panic while they spirited away valuable equipment. Three researchers were injured and two more are listed as missing persons. It has also been revealed that nearly eleven million dollars worth of special experimental equipment was stolen. The authorities were unwilling to reveal anything about the investigation, other than that they have the situation under control.'"

Scarlett snorted as she looked back at the limp figure in the hospital bed. "'Under control?' Yeah, right. Snakes, you and I both know that whenever the police say they have a situation under control, it just means that they haven't got a damn clue what the hell is going on."

She flipped the newspaper open to the sports page. "Hmm. Looks like the Giants are favored to win the World Series. Well, that's different. Not to bash your home team, lover, but in the last few years, those boys haven't been able to play their way out of a cardboard box." The page rustled, "Oh, new movies."

They stayed like that for a while longer, Scarlett sitting by her boyfriend's bedside reading about the current goings-on of civilian life while he rested in a half doze from the anesthesia. But eventually, the newspaper had been mostly exhausted, and Scarlett dozed off. She was startled awake by Snake-Eyes reaching up a hand and brushing her cheek gently.

"Hey," she said softly, setting the newspaper to one side and leaning forward in her seat to feel his forehead. "How're you feeling, Snakes? Any better?"

He shrugged and gestured for the pad laying on the table beside them. Scarlett handed it and the pen to him and sat back while he wrote. Turning it around, he showed her what he'd written there.

_Been better, but I've been worse. How're you doing? _

She ran a hand through her long red hair and bent to to kiss him gently on one scarred cheek. "Worried about you. I've been trying to help Doc figure out what these things are." She pointed at the lightbox on the wall with s few of his x-rays pinned to it. "We know for sure that they're nanomites, like the ones that M.A.R.S tried to use as warheads. Trouble is, these were built to do something else, and we still aren't entirely sure what." She kicked off her boots and stuck them under the bed. "Move over, hot shot, this chair's giving me all sorts of cramps."

Snake-Eyes chuckled silently at her, but managed to slide over enough for his girlfriend to squeeze onto the bed next to him. He picked up the pad and started to write again. _It'll work out, Shana. That's not all that's bothering you, though, is it? _

That got a smile out of her. "You know me too well, Snake-Eyes. Maybe we should start seeing other people." At that, he glared at her and wrapped an arm tightly around her waist, clearly stating what he thought of _that_ idea. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding," she laughed, and yelped as his fingers snuck down her side to tickle her.

"Jeez, you're definitely feeling better." She cracked her knuckles menacingly and loomed over her partner with an evil look in her eyes. "Prepare for your inevitable defeat, my ninja rival!" she laughed, doing her best imitation of an evil cackle, before jabbing her fingers into the joints of his knees. Like most warfare, their impromptu tickle-fight escalated.

Snake suddenly gasped out in pain as Scarlett's hand slipped against his abdomen wound, and the redhead recoiled. "Shit, Snakes," she breathed. "Oh, no. I'm sorry!"

She sat back, carefully peeling back his shirt to inspect the damage. "A little bruised, but it looks like it''ll be all right," she said, peering at the neatly stitched injury. Her heart was pounding at the thought of what she'd almost done—but Snakes had never wanted pity. She covered it with bravado. "Damn it, we need to get you fixed up," she said with a grin. "All this bedrest you're under is starting to drive your girlfriend crazy."

Snake-Eyes held up his hands as if to say _Hey, I didn't ask for this, you know! _At that, Scarlett laughed and kissed him again.

"I know, but it's still driving me nuts."

The ninja gently pulled her up towards the head of the narrow bed, and she settled under the sheets with a sigh. "I'll say this much," she told him with a yawn. "When I get my hands on McCullen, I'm going to geld the son of a bitch. His fucking nanomites ate the Eiffel Tower, and currently are rendering my sex life nonexistent." The exhaustion of the past few hours was rapidly catching up with her. Snake-Eyes smiled and combed his hand through her hair as she started to fall asleep. As she drifted off, she was still mumbling. "Hmm . . . I wonder if I can get 'im with one shot? Thermal arrows are good for that . . . "

Snake-Eyes shook his head at his girlfriend and pulled the sheet up to cover the pair of them. There were days that this woman could go from playful to terrifying, and then to absolutely adorable so quickly that it was almost scary. But, he mused as he lay back, he wouldn't want her any other way.

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**A/N: Congratulations to JasonLeeScottFan, and Asterisk78, you were right, my 'mystery JOE' was indeed Sgt. Slaughter! A huge thanks to Totenkinder Madchen, she is amazing and helps me so much with my terrible grammar. Everybody remember to review, not only for me but for alll the great fics out there. I'll see you next time!**


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